Greek government to toughen laws against child pornography distributors

Papaligouras said a new draft bill will allow maximum prison sentences of more than 10 years and fines of up to Ђ500,000 (US$600,000) for people convicted of producing or distributing child pornography.The stiffest penalties will be for cases where children suffered grievous bodily harm as a result of the sexual acts depicted, the AP reports.

The minimum sentence will be one year in prison - doubled when the pornographic material is distributed over the Internet.

Last month, Greek authorities filed charges against 20 people accused of running a Web site that featured photos of children as young as 4 in sexual acts with adults, and even with animals. Some 50 people have been arrested on child porn charges over the past two years.

The bill, to be tabled soon in parliament, will also allow child porn victims to testify in court through tape or video link, Papaligouras said. A.M.